The Elements of Graphic Design Paperback - 2011

Chapter 1: Space is emptiness
 
fill up a place, which may be better … when I
have made it empty. – William Shakespeare
(1564–1616), As You Like It
 
Emptiness is an essential aspect of life. It is the unavoidable opposite of fullness, of busyness, of activity. It is the natural and universally present background to everything we see. Emptiness is silence, an open field, a barren room, a blank canvas, an empty page. Emptiness is often taken for granted and thought best used by filling in. It is generally ignored by all but the few who consciously manipulate it to establish contrast, to create drama, or to provide a place of actual or visual rest. It is best used as counterpoint to filled-in space. Composers and architects use it. Painters, photographers, and sculptors use it. And designers use it. The most important step toward sensitizing yourself to using space is first seeing it. Gregg Berryman writes in his Notes on Graphic Design and Visual Communication, “Everyone ‘looks’ at things but very few people ‘see’ effectively. Designers must be able to see. Seeing means a trained super-awareness of visual codes like shape, color, texture, pattern, and contrast. These codes make a language of vision, much as words are building blocks for verbal language.” Being trained to see more critically is best guided by a teacher, but such training relies on exposure to excellent art and design samples.

The figure/ground relationship
The single most overlooked element in visual design is emptiness. The lack of attention it receives explains the abundance of ugly and unread design. (Ugly and unread describe two separate functions of design which occasionally occur at the same time. Ugly refers to an object’s aesthetic qualities, an evaluation of whether we like the object. Unread is infinitely more important, because an unread design is an utter failure. A printed document, regardless of its purpose or attributes, is never intended to be ignored.) Design elements are always viewed in relation to their surroundings. Emptiness in two-dimensional design is called white space and lies behind the type and imagery. But it is more than just the background of a design, for if a design’s background alone were properly constructed, the overall design would immediately double in clarity and usefulness. Thus, when it is used intriguingly, white space becomes foreground. The emptiness becomes a positive shape and the positive and negative areas become intricately linked.

"White sets out key concepts of space, unity, page architecture, and typography for the benefit of other designers, art directors, and students ... A clear introduction; recommended for anyone learning or reviewing graphic design." --Library Journal

“Alex W. White provides one of the clearest and most thoughtful introductions to graphic design that I’ve read. This book is also one of the few to really demystify the idea and use of white space in design—a topic that at once confuses young designers and causes seasoned clients to curl their lips with disdain. Read and learn.”
—Alexander Isley, Lecturer at Yale Graduate School of Art, past President of AIGA NY
 
“The Elements of Graphic Design’s first edition has been one of the most useful books on the details of design and effective visual communication. The second edition is certain become a standard in every design studio library.”—Sharon Werner, founder of Werner Design Werks
 
“An expert educator, Alex W. White has purified the fundamentals of graphic design into a vigorous and all-embracing book. No matter what stage of your design career, this second edition of The Elements of Graphic Design is, or ought to be, required reading.”—Kevin Smith, AIGA awards recipient, Professor at Parsons, The New School for Design

Alex W. White is the author of Listening to Type: Making Language Visible, Advertising Design and Typography, and The Elements of Logo Design: Design Thinking, Branding, and Making Marks. His books are used by professionals and as university texts the world over. He is chairman emeritus of the Type Directors Club and has taught graphic design and typography for thirty years at Parsons School of Design, Syracuse University, and the Hartford Art School. He is the chairman of the graduate program in design management at the Shintaro Akatsu School of Design at the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut. He holds an MFA in Advertising Design from Syracuse University and a BFA in Graphic Design from Kent State University.